A former police officer died from an alcohol dependency she developed in response to a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) sparked by traumatic experiences while serving.
Tammy Louise Sutton, 49, was found dead by a carer on August 4, 2023, at her home in Tonning Street, Lowestoft.
An inquest into her death was held by senior coroner Nigel Parsley at Suffolk Coroner's Court this week.
It heard that Ms Sutton had served with Essex Police from 1994 to 2022.
She left her role after suffering PTSD from repeated flashbacks following the death of a colleague on duty and other incidents involving children that she had to deal with.
The hearing was also told Ms Sutton had suffered from domestic abuse and childhood abuse.
After she left the police, the court heard she would "self-medicate" her depression and PTSD with alcohol.
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Social services and the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust - which provides mental health treatment - were both providing support for Ms Sutton.
She had sought help for her alcohol dependency - which saw her drink up to four bottles of wine a day - and was referred to Turning Point, a care service, on seven occasions.
James O'Connor, a mental health nurse for NSFT, told the inquest that Ms Sutton's behaviour was "most risky and impulsive" when she was drinking.
The month before her death, she suffered seizures and was treated in hospital for liver disease.
She was warned that if she continued to drink she would be risking death.
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On August 4, Ms Sutton's carer entered her property in Tonning Street on her daily check-up and found the former police officer dead in bed.
A post-mortem examination was conducted at the James Paget Hospital by Professor Richard Ball and the cause of death was given as cirrhosis of the liver and chronic alcoholism.
The coroner concluded Ms Sutton died from an "alcohol-related death" and offered his condolences to her friends and family.
Ms Sutton was a mother to adult children.
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